The Fence

Chapter 46: Missing Grey

As soon as everyone gets outside, it seems as if all the calming down that I had managed to accomplish went out the door with them. People scream, cry, and try to get the ash off of them. The drunk ones even laugh.

I struggle to think of another way to calm them down again. If what my brother said was true, then yukos were on their way. If we were attacked, the yukos would do exactly what we've feared for 17 years.

"Hey you!" I hear someone yell. She marches up to my brother and shoves him. Ky backs away, stunned. I shake my head, widening my eyes at the scene.

"Arianne?" Ky mumbles.

"Don't you play dumb!" she snaps. "I know you were the one who told Kitsune to take me back up to my room! Did you really think I wouldn't know?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You should be. You knew that something was going to happen, and that's why you had me leave. Well, if my safety is so important to you, why isn't everyone else's?"

"What?"

"You told me. Only me, to leave. Why didn't you tell everyone else in that room to get out? If it weren't for you, none of those people in there would be dead!"

Now I step in. "Hey, Arianne! That's quite an accusation, don't you think?"

Arianne turns her cold brown eyes on to me. "You would think the same if he weren't your brother!"

"That's not true!" I snap back.

"Stop it, Bena! I don't need you to stand up for me, okay?" Ky interrupts. I turn towards him, confused by his words. Wasn't he always asking for help? Even if it weren't actually verbal, he still depended on me to stand up for him. Why was this time different?

I look back to Arianne, who looks slightly less annoyed after being snapped out of her rage. "I know you don't believe me," she mutters. "But I think you should talk with your brother."

I watch her stride away, her small companion bounding behind her. It turns its head back to face me, a somewhat apologetic look in its eyes. I sigh, spinning back around to talk to Ky. But when I face the new direction, he's gone. I slump, dumbfounded.

"Am I going insane, Sutikka?" I mumble.

"No, Bena. I think you're just stressed. Calm down."

"It's not that easy," I sigh.

"It can be."

"How are you, by the way? I know I'm sapping away your energy."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

I spot Luci in the distance, someone I was worried about. I hurry to him, not for any particular reason. "Luci," I say, getting his attention. "I know you were scared back there."

Luci sighs, rubbing his head. "I really was," he murmurs. "Not just because of my LCSD, but because I thought Neveah was really dead."

"Don't assume the worst," I say. "It will just make controlling your LCSD even harder."

"I know, I know," he whispers. "It's almost impossible not to. Back home, the things that happened to my brother and I were almost always the worst."

I frown, giving Luci a side hug. "I know it's very hard, growing up like you did. But you're still here, aren't you? So is Neveah."

"Thank God," he sighs.

"Speaking of, do you know Pine or something? In the staircase, it seemed like you guys had met before," I say, changing the subject. If Luci dwelled on the subject of the bomb any longer, I don't know if he can keep his LCSD off his mind.